Driving means for children&#39;s vehicles.



J. J. WASKOM. DRIVING MEANS FOR GHILDRENS VEHIULBS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 13, 1911.

Patented July 16, 1912.

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DRIVING MEANS FOR CHILDRENS VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters Iatent.

Application filed. March 13,1911.

Patented July sonata.

Serial No. 613,995. i

Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Driving Means for Qlnldrens Vehicles, of which thefollowing 1s a specification.

My invention relates to Speeders, that is;

to childrens vehicles which are driven by a reciprocating arm or lever operated by the child riding the vehicle.

More particularly my invention relates to means for driving vehicles of the class mentioned.

The object of my invention is to provide a device'of the class mentioned which-shall be positively driven forwardly with each stroke of the lever, both forward and backward, and irrespective of the initial position of the lever. f

A.' further object of my invention is to provide a device of the class mentioned in which'the operating mechanism shall have no dead center.

A further object of-my invention is to provide a device of the class under consideratimi whichmay be readily adjusted to regulate the amount of power necessary to apply to the lever for driving the device in order to suit the same to the strength of the child.

()ther objects will appear hereinafter. \Vith these objects in view my invention consists generally in a vehicle of the class under consideration having a driving axle and an operating" lever pivotally mounted on the vehicle. a pinion on the axle, a gear mounted on a shaft and meshing with said pinion, sides of said gear. casings mounted to oscil late on said shaft and inclosing the respecratclict wheels fixed to the opposite tive ratchet wheels. pawls carried by said casings and engaging said ratchet wheels, oppositely extending radial arms on said casings and pitincn connecting said lover and said arms, whereby said casings are oscillatedby means of said lover and said gear driven in one direction onl v.

My invention further consists in .adevico ohariicterizedas above mentioned provided with an adjustable ooum-ction between the pitmcn audthe arms on the casings whereby the points of connection may be adplstcd toward or trom the center of rotation ot the casings to the end that the power necessary for driving the device may be regulated to suit the strength of the child.v I

My invention further consists in various details of construction and arrangements of parts all as will be fully described hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claim. i

My inventionwill he more readily under stood by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which- Figure 1 isa sideelevation oi a Speeder equipped with a driving mechanism em bcdyino' my invention in its preferred. form, Fig. 2 1s a side elevation of the gear and casings illustrating the same upon an enlarged scale, Fig. 3 is a section on the line i y of Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a, view similar to Fig. 2 with the right hand casing removed portions of the device are of the usual. form and detail description of the same is an necessary.

'1. he drive wheels 3 are fixed to a rotary axle S mountedin bearings 9 fixed to the.

frame 1 and fixed to the axle 8 is a pin ion 10.

11 indicates a shaft mounted in brackets or bearings 12 and extending transversely otthe vehicle parallel with the axle 8. The shaft ll is provided with a squared portion 13 upon which is mounted a gear 'llmeshfix ed to each side of the gear l t are ratchet wheels 15 and '16 which are of considerably less diameter than said gear. The ratchets l5 and lt'rarc iuolosed by casings l7 and 18 respectively which are mounted to oscillate n the shaft 11 and each oi which compriscs a dish 1! and an iut'urncd peripheral flange 2d. the edge oi which flange rcsts against thc t'accs of the gear wheel 'l-t. livotaliy mountcd in the upper portion oi" each of the casings are a plurality of pawls it which engage the teeth oi the respective ah-hots.

mg with the pinion l0. Formed upon or titi The flanges 20 are formed with bosses 22 shaped to fit snugly the pivot end of the pawls, forming thrust members to support them throughout their width.

The casing 17 and 18 are provided with radially extending arms 23 and 24 respectively, the former extending downwardly and the latter upwardly, and these are connected by pitmen 25 and 26 with the lever 7. It is obvious. that by oscillating the lever 7 the casings l7 and 18 will be oscil lated in opposite directions. A constant positive drive is thus transmitted to the gearlt and through the pinion 10 to the axle 8 and drive wheels 3. There is no danger of the child moving the device backwardly by means of the operating handle or lever, and there are no dead centers so that as soon as the child either pushes or pulls on the lever the vehicle will start in a forward direction.

I11 order that the devicemay be adjusted to the strength of the child, an adjustable connection is made between the pitmen 25 an'd 26'and the arms 23 and 24. To this end,

the arms formed with longitudinal slots to receive the bolts 28 by means of which the pitmen are connected to the arms. By securing the pitmen nearer the outer end of the arm; less 'power is required to drive the device and the nearer the pitmen are secured to the axis the greater the power required.

Having, described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: In a device of the class described, a frame, a seat and an oscillating lever mounted in front of said seat, in combination with an axle rotatably mounted on said frame, drive wheels fixed to said axle, a pinion on said axle, a transverse rotary shaft, a gear fixed to said shaft, and meshing with'said pinion, a ratchet fixed to each side of said gear, a casing upon each side of said gear and covering the respective ratchets, said casings being mounted to oscillate onsaid shaft, pawls carried by said casings and engaging said ratchets, a fixed radially extending arm on each of said casings and extending in opposite directions pit1nen pivotally connected to said lever and adjustable connection between said pitmen and said arms, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JACOB J. WASKOM.

Witnesses: J. R. LETCHER A; D. VVINGATE. 

